


Winter's Warmth

by Jor



Category: Touhou Project
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bittersweet, Gen, Happy Ending, Heartwarming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-16
Updated: 2016-12-16
Packaged: 2019-03-17 04:57:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13651887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jor/pseuds/Jor
Summary: On a frigid, lonely winter day, Reimu ponders her solitary life and receives comfort from an unexpected source.





	Winter's Warmth

**Author's Note:**

> This is a story I wrote for a Winter-themed Touhou writing contest, originally posted [here.](https://www.thp.moe/shorts/res/2019.html) It's old and definitely not my best work, but I think it's still a nice short read that deserves a place on my AO3.

Clouds fill the sky like a blanket over Gensokyo. Snowflakes fall in slow motion, coating the courtyard of the Hakurei Shrine. In this moment, there exists nothing but the fragile tranquility of winter. Fragile, because at any time, a rabbit might bound across the land and disturb the calm layer of snow, or the wind can pick up and bring down snowflakes at an even faster rate, and the figurative magic of this moment will be lost. Despite this, as if by some ancient agreement, no animal or natural force interrupts the serenity.

Reimu Hakurei sits on her knees at one of the shrine’s windows, silently taking in the beauty of this scene. She wears a heavy red hakama over a thick kimono that is inspired by her traditional shrine maiden dress. A few stray snowflakes have drifted towards her, resting on her hair. In her hands, she holds a cup of tea, which she holds against her chest between sips. Its warmth can be seen spilling into the open air as vapour.

She doesn’t watch long. Despite the peacefulness outside her window, it is a frigidly cold day. She shuts the window after a few minutes, returning to her kotatsu. It is late afternoon, Reimu having spent the whole day laying around, conserving energy and heat. She doesn’t feel like doing much else. She doesn’t want to see anyone or do anything – she just feels like curling up under the kotatsu and hibernating until winter faded away, like a summer youkai.

The Hakurei Shrine, the one place Reimu could call home, is worlds away from the Human Village or any of the youkai settlements. This time of year, she spends most of her days in complete isolation, and while she does keep up with shrine upkeep and spiritual duties, many of her days are still empty. Events flow into each other to the point that she doesn’t know the day of the week.

It makes her a little bitter. Humans, youkai, friends… they don’t visit that often. They turn to her for help with each incident, when it is convenient for them, but forget about her as soon as the incident is resolved. Humans are appreciative but apprehensive around her, as if they think of her as the harbinger of the very incidents she stamps out. Youkai respect her power, but she can tell that it is mostly fear that keeps them amicable. Very few people regularly visit the shrine.

She scowled into her cup. She hated vulnerable feelings like “loneliness.” At the end of the day, she didn’t need attention. Her duty was to maintain the balance in Gensokyo. Her successes were enough. No matter how fearful or apathetic they felt about her, she was the one that saved them, time and time again.

Knock, knock.

A gentle knock on the door. Reimu perks up, surprised to hear someone in this weather. She puts down her tea and rises to her feet. The knocking continues. Sluggishly shuffling over to the door, she calls out in a lethargic voice, “I’m coming…”

She reaches the door just as the visitors open it themselves. Marisa steps in, Kosuzu close behind her.

“Hiya,” Marisa says, smiling.

“Hello, Miss Reimu!”

She smiles at the two. “Hello. What brings you two here?”

“Well, we just wanted to visit.”

Marisa holds up a small box. “We brought some games.”

“The others are on their way, too!”

“…Others?” A sinking feeling fills Reimu's body.

“I mean some of the regulars at Suzunaan.”

“Sounds like a hassle.” Her regulars are not exactly a normal group of people.

“Maybe, but it’ll be fun!”

“It sounds like lots of effort, though. I appreciate you making the trek up here, but… a party?”

“ ‘Ey, if that’s what ya wanna call it, that’s yer words, not mine. C’mon, Reimu, dontcha want some company?”

“Yeah, you… aren’t you lonely?” Kosuzu’s doe-like eyes are full of concern.

The words cut straight through her. Like a rodent in the grass exposed to birds of prey, she feels emotionally unprotected and a panic sets into her blood. She closes her mouth, which she had involuntarily opened upon hearing Kosuzu’s insinuation. She frowns, furrowing her brow slightly, trying to signal to the bookkeeper that she had overstepped.

“I’m not lonely.” She sighs. “If you want to stay, that’s fine.”

“Score!” Marisa shouts, rushing to the kotatsu. The concern on Kosuzu's face does not change, but she follows after Marisa.

“You two get warm. I’ll be right back.”

Reimu grabs a coat and steps outside. It’s still snowing, but she needs a moment to sort through her feelings. She feels vulnerable. Her own thoughts don’t make sense to her. Kosuzu is right; she is feeling lonely, but in her pride, she won’t admit it to them. Is that why they decided to show up out of the blue? Do they think of her as a lonely person? Do they pity her? Look down on her?

“What’s puzzling you, shrine maiden?”

Reimu’s head snaps up. The bake-danuki, Mamizou, in her human form, stands in front of her.

“Ah, I’m just thinking. What brings you here?”

“Kosuzu invited me.” As usual, she seems to exude a whimsical and bemused aura.

“That’s right, you’re one of her regulars,” Reimu says. “Do you know why they decided to visit?”

“Why not?” Mamizou chuckles. “They’re your friends, aren’t they?”

“Well, yes, but…” she trails off. “Do bake-danuki get lonely?”

“We do enjoy the company of others, but tanuki are often loners. We aren’t as dependant on social bonds as humans.”

Her thoughts tumbled out of her mouth before she had the chance to second-guess them. “Would you say that loneliness is a sign of weakness?”

“For humans, loneliness is a great strength. In the days when human technology was poor, they survived by working together. Loneliness keeps humans together, and thus… they survive.”

Reimu doesn’t completely get the explanation, but she understands the point. In a roundabout way, Mamizou is saying that loneliness is not something she for which she should feel shame. Perhaps... it’s not really a deplorable weakness of hers after all. Surely, Marisa and Kosuzu don’t mean anything by feeling concern for her. They’re not trying to judge her. They’re her friends; they haven’t seen her in almost a week, so naturally, they must wonder how she has been.

Despite how vulnerable she feels, Reimu smiles legitimately for the first time that day. “I understand now. Thanks.”

Mamizou closes one eye, a smug smile on her face.

Even in winter clothing, it’s still way too cold to stay out for long. She turns and starts walking to the shrine, Mamizou following close behind.

“We’re back,” Reimu says as she opens the door.

“I already boiled the water fer tea,” Marisa says. She notices Mamizou. “Oh, yer friend’s here, Kosuzu.”

“How many people am I hosting?” Reimu asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Just us. Oh, and Akyuu. She should be here soon,” Kosuzu says. “You don’t mind, do you?”

Reimu looks at her friends. They had traversed the cold and the snow, all the way from the village, just to spend time with her. How could she be upset about that?

“No. I was feeling a little lonely, after all.”


End file.
